The Rosette Nebula (also known as Caldwell 49 ) is an H II region located near one end of a giant molecular cloud in the Monoceros region of the Milky Way Galaxy . The open cluster NGC 2244 (Caldwell 50) is closely associated with the nebulosity, the stars of the cluster having been formed from the nebula's matter.
6-439: The nebula has been noted to be having a shape reminiscent of a human skull, and is sometimes referred to as the "Skull Nebula". It is not to be confused with NGC 246 , which is also nicknamed the "Skull Nebula". The complex has the following New General Catalogue (NGC) designations: The cluster and nebula lie at a distance of 5,000 light-years from Earth and measure roughly 130 light years in diameter. The radiation from
12-636: Is significantly hotter than the 10,000 K plasmas seen in HII regions , and is likely attributed to the shock-heated winds from the massive O-type stars. On April 16, 2019, the Oklahoma Legislature passed HB1292 making the Rosette Nebula as the official state astronomical object. Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt signed it into law April 22, 2019. NGC 246 NGC 246 (also known as
18-463: Is the 12th magnitude white dwarf HIP 3678 A. NGC 246 is not to be confused with the Rosette Nebula (NGC 2337), which is also referred to as the "Skull." Among some amateur astronomers, NGC 246 is known as the "Pac-Man Nebula" because of the arrangement of its central stars and the surrounding star field. In 1785, William Herschel discovered NGC 246. In 2014, astronomers discovered
24-549: The Skull Nebula or Caldwell 56 ) is a planetary nebula in the constellation Cetus . It is the first known planetary nebula to have a hierarchical triple star system at its center. The nebula and the stars associated with it are listed in several catalogs, as summarized by the SIMBAD database. NGC 246 was discovered by William Herschel in 1785. The nebula is roughly 1,600 light-years away. NGC 246's central star
30-418: The massive O-type stars HD 46223 and HD 46150, which are primarily responsible for blowing the ionized bubble. Most of the ongoing star-formation activity is occurring in the dense molecular cloud to the south east of the bubble. A diffuse X-ray glow is also seen between the stars in the bubble , which has been attributed to a super-hot plasma with temperatures ranging from 1 to 10 million K. This
36-560: The young stars excites the atoms in the nebula, causing them to emit radiation themselves producing the emission nebula we see. The mass of the nebula is estimated to be around 10,000 solar masses . A survey of the nebula with the Chandra X-ray Observatory has revealed the presence of numerous new-born stars inside optical Rosette Nebula and studded within a dense molecular cloud. Altogether, approximately 2500 young stars lie in this star-forming complex , including
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